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RSS FeedWhat are the pros and cons to using Priceline.com's name your own price function?
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| Pros | 50% | 32 votes | Total: 64 votes | |
| Cons | 50% | 32 votes |
Pros
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Add to FavoritesI love the "name your own price" function on Priceline.com. I've personally enjoyed the perks of the function. For instance I paid $39 instead of $99 for a four star hotel room over-night at a wedding, and $42 instead of $179 for a hotel room for a rock concert! I've recommended this website to many different friends, and everyone has been pleased with their travel results!
Name your own price requires a certain amount of schedule flexibility but will save you an average of 40% on flights, 50% on hotel rooms and 30% on car rentals. If you have a favorite airline, hotel chain or brand of car you MUST HAVE, this function is not for you. However, if you really don't mind as long as you get a good quality deal log on and start clicking!
Let me start by explaining the process. At www.priceline.com you can choose to buy a discounted flight, hotel or car rental or combination package. You will know what flight, time, hotel name, or type of car you will be getting. OR, you can pick the "name your own price function". You will know certain specifics but not exact details about your choice until you pay for it. When you pay, you find out the exact details of your purchase immediately.
FLIGHTS
P ick your departure airport, arrival airport and dates for flights. Next, NAME YOUR OWN PRICE per round trip ticket in the provided field. Write in your name and click "next".
Price guarantees your trip will start between 6am and 10pm on your chosen dates and you will arrive no later than 12:30am the next day. You will have a maximum of one connection each way with no layovers over 3 hours.
If you accept these terms you have the option to purchase trip protection for around $15. Trip protection includes unforeseen illness, lost baggage, injury, medical expenses up to $1500, emergency evacuations up to $50,000, with a 24 hour worldwide assistance service!
At this point, you fill in your full name, address and payment information and click "buy my tickets now". If your price is accepted, you find out your travel itinerary. If your price is declined, priceline will give you options for trying again such as changing your date or raising your price.
HOTELS
Pick the city where you'd like to stay, dates of stay, number of rooms you'll need and press "bid now".
STEP ONE: On the next page will have a map of the city broken into different districts on the right hand side of the page. On the left hand side will be a list of the city districts with tick boxes beside them. You can pick one or even all of the districts to choose from. This option is helpful if you would like to stay in a certain area of a city. For instance in Las Vegas you can pick North, South or Center Strip; Convention Center; Fremont Street; Airport; Summerlin; and West or East of Strip. Priceline will tell you the area providing the days best deal with a little green button which says "best deal".
STEP TWO: Pick the star level for your hotel. You can pick from 1-star to 5-star or a resort. Again you can pick one, two or as many boxes as you like. Priceline will tell you the star-level providing the best savings with a little green button which says "best deal".
STEP THREE: Name your own price in the field provided, add your name and click "next". Priceline will tell you the median retail price for the area and star-level chosen. Name a price lower by up to 50%. Start low, you can always choose to bid higher later!
STEP FOUR: On the next page you check your details to see if they are correct. You can purchase $5 per room/per night trip cancellation or interuption insurance in case of injury or illness. Rooms are for 2 adults each. Hotels may charge more for additional guests at check-in. Usually children are free with adults. If you decide to proceed click next and priceline will tell you if your bid is accepted and if so your hotel details. If your bid is declined you are offered hints for successfully bidding again.
HINTS: Research your city before travel. Know which areas are good to stay in, have the best transportation, offer the most amenities before you start shopping to avoid disappointment. If you were visiting Toronto for instance, you'd want to pick a downtown hotel for sightseeing instead of an airport, Mississauga, Vaughn or North York hotel.
CARS
Select your pick-up and drop-off city. Select the type of car you would like, for instance SUV, compact, economy, minivan, truck, luxury, convertable or premium. Select your pick-up and drop-off dates and times and click "Bid Now".
On the next page, you pick your pick-up location in the city. This is usually the airport if there is one. You can choose to add your flight number and airline so the car rental company can plan for any delays or cancellations. Finally you add the driver's name and age, name your own price and click next. Priceline offers a link to comparing available prices from rental companies so you can bid lower.
On the next page you confirm your bid information and read agreement information. Priceline will charge your credit card if you bid is accepted, and the deal is non-refundable. Your vehicle will include unlimited mileage, however you must leave a security deposit of $200 at time of pick-up, and price does not include additional insurance. Finally, you provide your personal and payment information and click on "buy my rental car now". If your price is accepted, you will be given all your rental vehicle information. If your price is declined, you will be given choices for re-bidding.
Learn more about this author, Susan Huizinga.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Cons
Priceline.com offers the ability to name your own price as William Shatner says on the commercial. Whether you need a hotel, flight, rental car, or all inclusive package priceline almost always has something to fit the bill. The easiest way to describe priceline is that is is like the ebay of travel agents with some very important catches you should be well aware of that makes this a poor choice of services for some travelers.
Priceline offers something truly unique called the name your price function which allows you to input a dollar amount for whatever it is you are trying to book. While this seems great, and sometimes is if you have a lot of flexibility in your plans it can backfire on you in a heartbeat. The first thing that I noticed was that I did not know right away if my "bid" was accepted. On one occasion this took only twenty minutes or so which wasn't bad. On another it was a matter of a few hours. I've been told by friends it can take longer than that sometimes, even a full business day. If you need to know right away whether you have a booking this isn't going to work out to good for you usually.
The second problem is that when you are bidding you are not bidding on anything specific outside of the date and service you need. For instance you input you are looking for a three star hotel in Dallas. When you place the bid the only thing you know for sure is the hotel will be a Priceline three star hotel and that it is within the city of Dallas, not that it is a Holiday Inn, Radisson, or any such thing or even if it is smack dab in the center of the city or the outskirts. This can be problematic for some people. In one case a friend used the name your own price feature and her hotel was actually several miles outside of the zone she input forcing her to need a rental car which then cost as much as paying the full price for a hotel room exactly where she needed it. You may not like a certain airline but if Priceline assigns it to you then that's what you have to live with.
Another problem is that all too often the fine print concerning use of this function is ignored. "Actual prices and availability are subject to change." There is no guarantee of savings. Your bid is binding and you cannot back out. If you don't like the hotel or the area it is in is too far away for your needs that's just too bad. You are obligated to pay for the room (Or at least pay for a cancellation fee if you are lucky enough to get away with that) which generally means when you re-book any savings you hoped for are gone.
Basically put you have no real control over how you will get where you are going or where you will stay using this function. Sometimes it works out great and others times it is lousy. If you are a gambler this is up your alley. If you don't care about the specifics of your travel this can be ideal for you. If you are a detail oriented person or someone that wants to actually know how your money is spent before you hand it over this is not for you.
Learn more about this author, Amanda Fox.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
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